EDF EN Canada, a company of the EDF Energies Nouvelles family, announced its intention to start construction of a 23.4MW (DC) photovoltaic power plant near Arnprior, Ontario.
Ubbink Solar Modules B.V., a 100% subsidiary of Centrosolar, will close down its solar module plant located in Doesburg (NL), though it will remain as a legal entity and will fulfil any financial obligations. The closure is a direct result of the financial crisis of Ecostream Switzerland GmbH.
Oerlikon Solar's KAI 1200 PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) tool, used for the deposition of silicon absorber layers on thin film glass substrates, was acknowledged by expert solar industry judges and online voting as "the best technical product for thin film manufacturing" during the first annual Cell Award ceremonies, which were held during Intersolar in Munich last week.
Despite the current economic gloom, Saxony-Anhalt in Germany continues to be a key attraction for industries, not least the solar industry. At a recent conference, held in Berlin, it was noted by Prime Minister Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bohmer and the Minister for Economic Affairs Dr. Reiner Haseloff that more than €9 billion had been invested in the region from international investors since 1991. The result was the direct creation of over 36,000 jobs.
Schott Solar will shutter its 15-MW module manufacturing facility in Billerica, MA, effective July 31 as part of efforts to streamline its global manufacturing operations. The move will affect 180 full-time employees and 45 temporary workers at the plant, although the company said it will offer jobs to those affected at other sites where available.
The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has tapped Optomec's aerosol jet deposition system to be part of its atmospheric processing platform in the Process Development and Integration Lab in Golden, CO. The noncontact system will be used primarily to develop deposition processes for metallization and coatings to reduce the cost of production of crystalline silicon and thin-film solar photovoltaic cells.
In a planned three-year effort to reduce the cost of producing crystalline silicon solar cells by reducing and the amount of Si/Watt that is needed by half and boost conversion efficiencies to approximately 20%, SCHOTT Solar has joined IMEC's newly launched silicon photovoltaics industrial affiliation program (IIAP). The program is expected to see silicon solar cell manufacturers, equipment and material suppliers collaborate and share intellectual property, talent, risk and costs involved in the project.
The Cell Award event at Intersolar Munich on May 28 highlighted some of the best tools, technologies and regions from the PV manufacturing elite. The event was initiated to address the need for an independently-judged platform upon which to assess the most successful and esteemed technologies and potentials in the solar industry.
With amorphous silicon-based thin film technologies under pressure to boost conversion efficiencies to remain competitive with both CdTe and crystalline-based technologies, Oerlikon Solar has claimed that its own pilot production line has now seen full-size ‘Micromorph’ modules (1.4 m2) produce 151 Watts initial power, equivalent to 11% percent initial power conversion efficiency. According to the company, this is a new efficiency record for the technology.
The SEMI PV Group, the special interest group that serves the photovoltaic supply chain, has made available a report on “China’s Solar Future,” prepared by the China PV Advisory Committee, organized by the PV Group, and comprising China PV industry and academic leaders. The report presents specific recommendations for a China PV policy roadmap; in particular, the need for an accelerated adoption of PV generated electric power in China.
